JPH0683879A - Method and device for labelling document for preservation, handling and introduction - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide the method and device which assign a meaningful file label selected by a user to a file which uses an existing peripheral device. CONSTITUTION: This device consists of a processor means 54, a memory means which is connected to the processor means 54 and in which data items are stored, a conversion means which is connected to the processor means 54 and converts a print document to a data file expressing the print document, an image processing means which is connected to the conversion means and extracts data, which is given to the print document and expresses a selected display, from the file, and a means which settles such relation between this data and a data item that selection of this data is interpreted as selection or the data item.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and system for displaying a label of a document with an arbitrary image area label in preparation for storing, manipulating and searching the document.

A personal computer ("p.
c. Scanned documents for processing in digital computers, such as "), workstations, or other digital data processing resources are now commonplace. For example, a user now scans documents on a computer. It is possible to "fax" the document to the user's computer for storage, redistributing the document via the computer, etc. Coupling these two different document processes with each other means that they both require peripherals of data processing resources. The present invention facilitates the use of such peripheral devices,
In particular, it concerns naming and referencing files stored in data processing resources.

For the purposes of this description, p. c. , Digital data processing resources such as workstations, etc. are referred to herein as computers. As used herein, the term document means not only a carrier that holds markings, such as paper, but also markings that are added to the carrier, if present. The term file, as used herein, is to be understood to mean, for example, a collection of data that represents a scanned document image stored on or accessible to a computer. Although the term electronic representation of data is used herein, the representation of data (ie, data representation) can be electronic, magnetic, optical, or any other suitable representation. In addition, the data is in analog format,
Alternatively, it may be in digital format. Finally, document storage, manipulation, and retrieval includes all actions that a user can perform on a document and its electronic representation, including actions that require communication between peripheral devices and computers. It should be understood to mean. For example, this includes scanning and sending from "remote" scanners to computers, retrieving files from computers, transferring documents between computers, etc.
These definitions simplify the discussion herein of the background and details of the invention, but their use should not be construed as limiting the spirit or scope of the invention.

Basically, in order to perform any task on a document that requires communication between a peripheral device and a computer, the document must be represented by data, ie an electronic representation of the document is produced. Must. Generally, an electronic representation of a document is performed by a document scanner that produces a description of the on / off states of the pixels ("pixels") that make up an image and packages the representation as a file. The format of electronic representation is, for example,
It can be a bitmap of the document or an encoded set of data representing the document.

When an electronic representation of a document (hereinafter referred to as an "electronic document") is created, a method for uniquely identifying it is needed. This is a disk that resides on your computer
Most commonly handled by the operating system. For convenience, almost all discs
The operating system allows a user or computer to assign a file name to a file containing an electronic document in preparation for subsequent file identification,
And, in fact, we need this. According to known document storage, scanning, and retrieval systems, user-selected filenames are in a computer-recognizable format, such as an EBCDIC that can be entered from a keyboard.
Or it must be in encoded text such as ASCII.

Electronic documents sent from a peripheral device to a computer for storage and / or processing are typically named by the computer upon transmission or reception in connection with the task of document storage. For example, a user may enter a coded text name for an electronic document via a keyboard attached to the sending or receiving device. Alternatively, the sending or receiving device can automatically assign the encoded text name to the electronic document based on preset name assignment rules. Generally, document storage tasks include setting destinations for files on a storage medium, such as physical location on a magnetic disk such as RAM, and
The system identification ("system ID") of the destination is required. The disk operating system establishes and maintains the correspondence between assigned filenames and system IDs as part of the storage process.

When assigned by the user, the file name is
It is often a shorthand memory phrase, or other label that allows the user to identify the general or specific content of the file from the filename. When assigned by the system, the file name is most often a general name, such as a user name, the name of the device that sent the file, the date and time the file was created, etc. Therefore, the probability that a user can identify the contents of a file is usually higher when the file is assigned by the user than when the file is assigned by the system.

There are known systems that allow document retrieval using peripherals such as fax machines. One such system is US Pat. No. 4,893,333.
No. According to this reference, pre-stored documents can be searched for, for example, by so-called bar codes, fill-in check boxes, or indicia provided in fill-in-field format. To be identified for. The patent also discloses the concept of using a compatible image processing software to identify the format without such indishia. In addition, some operations (store, retrieve, send) on documents using peripherals may result in the document being identified by a dual voice DTMF telephone signal, such as disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,918,722. It will be implemented when it is possible.

One of the problems encountered in the art is
It does not mean that all the peripheral devices are not accompanied by a keyboard that allows the user to assign a file name for file storage and input a file name suitable for operations such as accessing a previously stored file. . A typical standalone scanner is an optical imaging / component, software for processing the image, and
Probably consists of a paper-based document processing mechanism. In addition to the above, a typical fax machine
Includes a numeric keypad, but rarely all the keys of a complete alphanumeric keyboard. In general, current peripheral devices will limit the ability of the user to assign meaningful filenames to files and access previously stored files.

Further, in the case of identifying a file which is stored in advance by the fill-in check box or the fill-in field and which is named in advance, for each character of the file name, At least one check box or fill-in field must be properly marked. Therefore, time is wasted and an error is likely to occur in document identification. For example, if check boxes are used to identify files, then a number of such check boxes must be provided to allow alphanumeric identification of file names. If a fill-in field is used, the processor that identifies the document must ultimately perform character recognition for the display in the fill-in field.

Finally, almost all systems that set file names require that the file name not only be in a computer-recognizable format, but that the character set used for the file name be the computer's unique character set. And For example, in general, unless a processor is able to recognize a foreign language character set or graphics, it cannot utilize the foreign language character set or graphics to assign a filename to a file. For this reason, when the computer can only recognize Latin characters, it cannot perform an operation of assigning a file name in Kanji characters to the file.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for assigning meaningful user-selected file labels to files that utilize existing peripherals, thereby providing file name input. To overcome the problem of restrictions imposed on the user. That is, for a file to which a file name is assigned, a relationship is established between the image area file label and the computer-assigned file name so that the label can be used to assist the user in identifying the file. Especially.

In the present invention, based on prior art methods and systems, some relationship for a file is established between the assigned file name and the image area file label. As a result, it is possible to set a meaningful file label for a file that has a less meaningful meaning and can replace the assigned file name. Furthermore, by establishing this relationship, the user can more easily and directly identify the desired file in a system without a text input device than was previously possible with the prior art. It will be possible.

One aspect of the invention involves the storage of files at or by the computer. According to this aspect, the file is first a paper, with markings such as prints or writing,
It is a document consisting of carrier means such as plastic. For that file, a special cover format is used that includes the area where the user gives the image area label (eg, a handwritten name or illustration). The document preceded by this cover form is scanned by scanning means whose output is an electronic data file containing the form and an image of the document. The data file is sent to the computer, assigned a file name, and stored as a file in the computer's memory or computer-associated memory medium.

Sending a data file to a computer involves instructions that cause the computer to store the file (the instructions are read from a form or other input means). The computer stores the file and sets the location where the file name of the file should be generated. The computer maintains the association between files and filenames according to methods well known in the art.
Next, the computer distinguishes the data representing the format from the data representing the document, finds the expression of the image area label given to the format, and between the data representing the image area label and the data representing the document, Establish a relationship with a database item. When the computer is invoked for access to a document, it displays or prints the image area label so that the selection of the image area label is interpreted by the computer as meaning the selection of the document.

In another aspect of the invention, access is required for sending, retrieving, deleting, etc., of electronic documents already stored that have associated image area file labels. According to this aspect, the user requests a listing for the label of a matching set of files that is stored on or accessible to the computer. In response to this listing request, the computer generates, for each file, an indication of the image area file label, if any, and possibly other indications. This display is a computer display,
It can be an image formed on a document or the like made of print paper. From this display, the user can, for example, highlight a file label on a computer display, or put a check mark in a check box field on the paper or other printed document for that display, to display the image area. Make a selection of the relevant items by selecting the file label.
Based on the pre-established relationship between the image area file label and the file name, the computer can interpret the user's selection as the selection of the relevant file.

In the above, it is possible to assign an image region label to a file and use that label to identify the file without resorting to character recognition software such as optical character recognition ("OCR"). The aspects are closely related. That is, there is no need to convert the image area file label into a machine-recognizable format. This reduces the demands on the computer's processing resources, increases the speed with which the computer can process instructions containing image area file labels, and supports the characters supported by the computer's character set (e.g., used in standard DOS machines). Characters other than (Kanji) can be used, non-text labels (graphics or related non-text marks) can be used, and users do not need to copy the image area file label. The image area file label can be selected.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the file to which the image area label is assigned need not be an electronic document. For example, a file name can be data representing one or more instructions or a program of instructions that a computer will follow to accomplish a particular task. That is, the underlying content with the associated image area label is referred to by the image area label, by the computer, and / or in the computer, loaded and / or executed. Computer capable
It can be a program. Alternatively, the file to which the image area label is associated may be a file with a format used by other data processing resources.
It can be one or more of many other types of files, such as binary files. In fact, in this book,
The term "file" is used in its broadest sense to describe the element to which an image area label is assigned and is understood to mean any data item or part of a data item suitable for assigning an image area label. I want to.

Other aspects of the present invention, and methods for addressing the above and other problems, will be better understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, detailed description, and claims. Easily revealed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG.
FIG. 3 illustrates a device, including a computer and peripherals, of a type that can use or form part of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating various software modules of the type with which the present invention may be used, or which may form a part thereof, with a shared communication interconnect therebetween. FIG. 3 illustrates an apparatus including a computer and a facsimile machine capable of sending data to and receiving data from a computer of the type that can employ or form part of the present invention. It is a figure. FIG. 4 is a batch diagram showing jobs, documents, and formats. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing steps for implementing remote document storage according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the steps required to transfer a batch to a computer for processing in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the steps required for batch processing according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the steps required for a job set action according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram of a format according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram of an action table generated by the image processing software according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 shows
FIG. 5 illustrates the steps required to create a table for setting processing actions in a job database according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram of a selection format associated with a send action generated in response to a request to send a document list, according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 displays a list of images / labels in a window user interface environment,
FIG. 6 is a computer display screen that facilitates document selection using an input device such as a mouse.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a device 10 of the type commonly used or that may form part of the present invention. Device 10 has 1
A computer 12 (pc, workstation, etc.) capable of communicatively interconnecting one or more peripheral devices
Server, or other digital data processing resource). Network connection 1 to these peripherals
4, format editor 16, scanner 18, image communication means 2
0 (like a fax or "fax"),
And devices designed primarily for communication to computer 12, such as storage device 22 (such as magnetic, optical, or electrical storage), and network connection 24, display device 26 (such as a CRT). , Printer 28, image communication means 30 (such as a fax machine), and storage device 32 (such as magnetic, optical, or electrical storage), primarily designed to receive communications from computer 12. Included equipment.

Computer 12 typically includes a central processing unit (not shown) that performs data processing under the control of various software modules. Referring to FIG. 2, in accordance with the present invention, these modules include, among other things, a disk operating software module 42, a fax interface software module 44, a data base,
A software module 46, an application software module 48, and optionally an end capable of loading the instructions from either or both the fax interface software module 44 and the application software module 48. And a stop-resident (“TSR”) software module 50. One or more various modules can form a software product. The various modules are typically in communication with each other, as shown schematically. That is, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the application software modules include image processing software module 48a, data base instruction software module 48b, interface and I / O software module 48c, form description. Includes language software module 48d, form layout software module 48e, and other software modules for accessing and processing data, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

To clarify one of the embodiments of the present invention,
FIG. 3 illustrates a computer 54 and, in this example, a fax machine 56 that is capable of sending data to and receiving data from computer 54 via a general telephone line 58. , Device 52 with a single peripheral device is shown. Further, the computer 54 includes, among other things, a display device 54.
a, input device 54b, fax card interface module 54c (fax interface software module 44 (FIG. 2), and
Suppose that processing and memory device 54d is included, including any additional hardware and software that allows a computer to send and receive fax data over telephone line 58.

The purpose of the device 52 is, at least in part, for a user to convert a paper document into an electronic document via a fax machine 56 and to make a telephone call using standard facsimile communication protocols such as CCITT Group 3. Line 58
The electronic document is sent to the computer 54 via the computer, converted according to the above, and sent to the computer 54.
Computer 54 to perform the "task")
To allow the fax machine 56 to print the document. Thus, the fax machine 56 serves to perform the tasks of three independent devices: (a) input scanner, (b) computer operator interface, and (c) printer.

The operation of the invention will now be described with reference to the device 52 of FIG. It is assumed that the user is physically remote from the computer 54, but the fax machine 56 is located remote from the user. Further, assume that the user has a paper document that he wishes to store in electronic format on computer 54. This task will be referred to as remote document storage (or more simply, the "store" task). The paper document can be of almost any type, such as a document having text and / or illustrations attached to it. The steps for performing this task will be discussed in connection with FIGS. 4 and 5.

Referring to FIG. 4, a user assembles one or more pages of a document 60 and a document 60 prepended with a command form 62 together. The instruction format 62 is generally a single page format, but multiple page instruction formats can be adapted to such an environment. Document 6
The 0 and the instruction format 62 are collectively called a job 64. Of course, the user can enter one job at a time into the computer 54 (FIG. 3) or can present multiple jobs 64, 64 ', etc. together. The one or more jobs assembled for sending to computer 54 are referred to as batch 66.

Once assembled (in the order shown from left to right in FIG. 4), batch 66 captures the image and produces an electronic format of the image of the batch (hereinafter referred to as "batch-image-data"). Loaded into fax machine 56 (FIG. 3). The fax machine 56 produces batch image data for sending to the computer 54 in a standard format, such as the CCITT Group 3 encoded format.

FIGS. 5-8 are flow charts showing steps for implementing remote document storage in computer 54. FIG. 5 illustrates the initial steps performed by fax machine 56 to accomplish remote document storage in accordance with the present invention. First, the fax machine 56
As shown in step 100, dial the fax interface module 54c number provided by the user. Next, in step 102, the fax module 54c is polled to determine if it is ready to receive batch image data. If the fax interface module 54c is not ready to receive batch image data, the fax machine will disconnect the line and later
Module dialing can be retried.
However, the fax interface module 5
At 4c, if the batch image data is ready to be received, the batch image data is generated by the fax machine scanning and processing hardware and software, as shown in step 104. Next, in step 106, the batch / image / data is transferred to the telephone line 5.
8 to the fax interface module 54c. The batch / image / data has a resident memory for temporarily storing the batch / image / data, or a fax interface that does this by utilizing a portion of the processing and memory device 54d. Received by module 54c. The fax interface module 54c batch-matches matching file names and / or system IDs.
Automatically assign to images, data and files.

Referring to FIG. 6, which is a flow chart showing the steps for transferring the batch to a computer for processing, the fax interface module 54c is periodically polled to indicate the batch It is determined whether or not the image / data has been received. The process according to the present invention begins at the batch level and in step 110 it is determined whether a complete batch has been received. One way to do this is to check if the telephone connection between the fax interface module 54c and the fax machine 56 is broken. If it is broken, the received batch / image / data can be considered as a complete batch. Once it is determined that the complete batch has been received, the batch must then be sent to the computer.

For the following explanation, the TSR software
Module 50 acts as an interface between fax card interface module 44 and application software module 48. This conveniently facilitates the process, but is only one of many ways to establish such an interface.

Furthermore, in the case of this embodiment, a database called a job database can be used as a scheduler to add control to the execution of a predetermined task by the computer. The job database is
A second called an information database, each of which serves to house other actions and, inter alia, primarily data used by the job database.
Consists of pre-defined items called actions associated with either or both of the items in the database. The action item includes data indicating the function of the action, and data that can be used for performing scheduling or executing the function of the action. Each task has at least one action associated with it. A list of possible actions, along with their definitions, is given in Appendix 1 attached. Of course, scheduling actions and organizing stored items is well known in the art.
It can be handled by conventional methods that require U, main memory, etc.

The next step is to transfer the batch to computer 54 for processing. In accordance with the present invention, a file is created (hereinafter referred to as an "event file") in step 112 to maintain relevant information about the batch. The event file automatically contains F
AXAAAA. A type name such as EVT is assigned, where AAAA represents a four digit integer. This is, for example, the TSR software module 50
Maintain a portion of the computer's memory reserved for recording the value of the last integer assigned to a file name and / or handle it by doing either it can. Thus, each event file is given a sequentially numbered file name.

Next, the TSR software module 5
0 provides certain information, including, for example, the existence of a new batch image data file being stored, and the file name assigned to the batch image data file by the fax interface module 54c. Written to event file. This facilitates processing of batches by the application software module 48, as described below.

The application software module 48 periodically polls the TSR software module 50, step 11 of FIG.
As shown by 4, it is determined whether or not there is a new batch / image / data / file for processing. One convenient way to do this is to request the TSR for the current event file number. If the TSR does not have a new event file, the current event file number is 0
Is set to. Therefore, the application software, in response to the poll, interprets a 0 as representing no new event file. On the other hand, TSR
Is the application software module 48
If you have an event file to send to
Respond to the poll with an integer representing the integer assigned to the event file, as described above. Thus, when the application software module 48 receives a non-zero integer, such as BBBB, in response to the poll, the file name FAXBBBB. EV
Interpret as having created T. This is step 116
Is represented by the receipt of the file name for the event in. The module prepares the file FAXBBBB.txt for further processing. Find information stored in EVT. This is handled by an action called an input action. In this way, batches, images, data,
Accessing files is quick and easy.

At this point, the batch image data file is a DOS file in standard encoded fax format and can be stored in a file format specific to fax interface module 54c. . To facilitate uniform processing of batches, images, and data, application software modules use the information in the event file to provide conversion functions that convert the batches, images, and data into a suitable intermediate data format. call. This step is shown at 118 in FIG.

Next, the batch processing will be described with reference to FIG. In the case of the intermediate data format described above, the batch is treated as a collection of separate pages, and the standard fax format in which the fax machine 56 (FIG. 3) generated the batch image data includes the beginning of the page or It will include an indication, such as an end, that allows page distinction. As a result, for each page of the batch, image, and data in step 120, the job data,
It facilitates the execution of batch actions, which is the first step in the processing of a job, which creates a base database item. This can be done by looking at the batch image data for the page indicators described above, or by transferring a count of the number of pages in the batch from the fax interface module 54c using, for example, an event file. it can. This allows the conforming image software module 48a to examine each page of the batch separately and store the conforming data for each page in a separate page item. For example, such data may include whether the page is in instruction format 62, which batch the page is part of, and the like.

Executing the batch action will associate a page action with each page item in the information database. These page actions allow the image processing software module 48a to
Examines each page of the batch, image, and data, determines whether the page is a format, and records the format, not the format information, in the page item of the information data base.

Now, returning to FIG. 4, each instruction format 6
2 includes a format data area 68 in which various encoded data can be stored. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the encoding format data area 68 contains a computer 5
4 contains the form and the code that allows the form and, if any, the steps required to process the associated document. Alternatively, coded data area 6
8 contains a complete description of the format and US Patent Application No. 5,
Formats and associated document processing methods may be included, as described in US Pat. No. 060,980. The encoding format is
“Self-Clocking Glyph Shape C
co-pending US patent application Ser. No. 07/56 entitled "odes)"
It may be of the type described in US Pat. No. 0,514, or it may be another computer-readable coding scheme that is as compatible as possible.

By examining the form data area 68, the application software module can determine if the page of interest is in form. The presence of encoded data in the format data area 68 indicates that the page is in the format, while the absence of encoded data indicates that the page is not in the format.

An alternative method and apparatus for determining whether a page of interest is a format includes a logo or monogram in the area 70 of the format page and uses a suitable image processing software to add a logo or monogram to the page. Will be determined. Again, the presence of the logo or monogram indicates that the page is in format, while the absence of the logo or monogram indicates that the page is not in format.

If the page is determined to be in format, the image processing software module 48a then examines the format data area 68 to identify the format. In general, the information encoded in area 68 is a format identifier pointing to the format description, and steps for processing the format and associated documents stored in the information database or computer memory. In addition, the page identity for the form page of the information database also stores the form identity. Returning to FIG. 7, this process is shown in steps 132 and 134.

When each page action is complete and there are no more pages in the batch to examine, the job set action is executed, which is also done in the batch action. Job set actions will be described in connection with FIG. job·
The function of set action is batch, format, and
If so, divide it into separate jobs consisting of its associated documents. At step 138, the page item for the batch is examined. At step 140, a determination is made whether the page is in format. Once the page item is found to be in the format, in step 142 a new item called a job item
Generated in the database. In step 144, the page item containing the format display is entered into this job item. If the job item does not include an indication that the page is formatted, the current job item is populated with the page item. At step 146, a determination is made whether the page item just processed was the last page item for the batch. Otherwise, according to the above, in step 138 the next page is examined. If it is the last page item, then the end of the batch has been reached and the job set action is complete because the batch is completely split.

When each job is defined, the processing of each job can proceed. First, since each job starts with a format, a format action is generated for each job.
The role of the form action is to assemble the form description and other related data necessary for the image processing software module to set up the computer to process the electronic document. At this point, a brief description of the format, such as format 150 shown in FIG. 9, will aid in understanding the processing of the job. The format 150 includes, for example, a heading area 152, a storage area 154, a search area 156, a list area 158, and 1
It will be divided into one or more separate areas. Each area can hold writing, coding information, or marking such as an illustration, and user-modifiable fields such as the clip area 160 or check box 162. These other fields are also within the scope of the invention.

As part of the form action, the form identification is used to access the form description in the information database. That is, a data structure is created that includes a description of the locations (if any) of various user-modifiable fields that are placed in the form. The format description and the batch image / data / file name are then presented to the image processing software, which inspects the user modifiable area for user modifications. That is, if the format is defined to have a clip region at a particular location, the image processing software locates the clip region in the format and clips the contents of that region (ie, extract the image from that region). To).
Similarly, if the form has a check box defined to be placed in a particular position, the image processing software determines if the box is checked.

For convenience, the output of the image processing software analysis of the form is in the form of items in the table set by the application software module, as described below. FIG. 10 shows an example of the table 170. The table 170 comprises a number of items, one or more of which correspond to tasks the form causes the computer to perform. The steps for writing to the table 170 are shown in FIG. First, step 17
As shown in FIG. 2, the form identification label can be used to create the layout software module 48e. From the knowledge of the form identification label, the form layout software module 48e will step 174.
As shown in, a file whose contents indicate the positions of various check boxes and clip areas can be created. The identification label can be, for example, an xy coordinate value from a reference point for convenience of format.

The location file is then sent to the image software module 48a, along with the page items corresponding to the form page. The image processing software locates the check box, if any, and for each check box determines if the box is checked. This information is entered in the file. The image processing software still locates the clip area, if any, and clips the content of that area for each clip area and stores the content in a file. Next, the file name of the file in which the contents of the clip area are stored is stored in the file. These processes
Collectively, this is shown in step 176.

In step 178, the form description language software module can create a blank table corresponding to the form from the form identification label. Then, in step 180, a file containing information about which check boxes to check,
And accessing the file names of the files containing the contents of the clip area and using the data contained in these files to write to a blank table in step 182, resulting in the complete table 170.
Is obtained (FIG. 10).

Returning to FIG. 10, table 170 is divided into four columns. The first column 184 is reserved for the pre-action step. Use the items in this column to
A determination is made of which actions to enter into the job database to accomplish the task. For example,
When searching for tasks, the entries in column 184 populate the job database with pre-search and search actions. The second item 186 is reserved for the qualifier for the pre-action step. In addition, the items in this column determine which action is entered in the job database. For example, if the task creates a list, the items in column 186 display whether the list is a search list, send the list, delete the list, etc. The third column 188 is reserved for status display. The item in this column indicates whether or not the corresponding check box is checked. Finally, the fourth column 190
Are reserved for parameter display. The item in this column is, for example, a file name including a clip area image forming an image area file label.

Returning to FIG. 11, when access to the table 170 is granted to the application software module, the processing of the job sets the action appropriate for the job database, and the pre-action step column 174. By performing the action shown in FIG. 2 and providing the item called in the parameter column 180 to facilitate execution. To do this, the table is cycled a sufficient number of times so that sequential executions of job database based actions produce the desired results.
For example, for storage tasks, some association must be established and maintained between the filename of the stored document and the filename for the document label of any image area. The document itself is all the pages of the job except the format. Therefore, the job data base page entry for the job is examined and an entry indicating that the associated page is not in the form is entered in the information data base document entry. The image area document label entered in the parameter column 190 of the table 170 is linked to the page of the document by entering the document item. Thus, a relationship is established between the electronic document and any image area document label.

It should be noted that this relationship can be significantly modified by the user for convenience. For example, the user may have resorted to image area labels because the keyboard is unavailable. However, the user may want to convert the image area label into a computer-recognizable format, for example encoded text such as EBCDIC or ASCII that can be entered from a keyboard. This can be implemented by setting a function that enables deletion of the image area file name and replacement of the text area file name by the method of re-naming the file name. The replacement of the text area file name with the image area file name can be performed, for example, by a similar operation related to the scanner.

At this point, the user has already stored the document on the remotely located computer and the relationship between the document and the document label has been established. As shown, this facilitates many user operations on the document, including retrieving the document, sending the document to another subscriber, deleting the document, and so on. For convenience, the following description will focus on the transmission of documents. It will be clear that this description is easily extended to many tasks that can be performed on or by the document based on the document being stored, so for these other tasks Will be described only if its implementation must deviate significantly from this description.

First, it is assumed that the user is still remote from the computer. To perform the send task, the user first requests a list of stored documents from the computer. Embodiment 1 of the present invention
According to one, the request is made in a paper format, such as format 150 in FIG. This form may be a dedicated list request form or it may be a multi-purpose form, but in the latter case the user will be given a list task such as submit, search, delete etc. where the list will be presented. And may be required to select a section. This form is sent to computer 54 and received by fax interface module 54c to perform input actions and the like, as described above.

Next, it is determined that the format requesting the document list is one that calls a list task, the process proceeds, and what action must be called to perform the requested task. Is determined. In response to the list task, a form is generated that includes a list of potential recipients, a list of documents that may be sent, and check boxes associated with each, and checked by computer 54. The selection of the box is finally intended to be interpreted as the selection of the recipient or document associated with the check box. This form could then be, for example, a computer dialing the user's fax machine and sending the form to the user's fax machine for printing.
Sent to the user.

The user then indicates in the transmission form the recipient of the document and the document to be sent by filling in the corresponding check boxes. The marked form is then sent to computer 54 for fax machine 54c.
And the input action or the like is executed as described above. Upon processing the send form, a pre-send action is entered into the job database to convert the indicated document into a format suitable for fax interface module 54c for each recipient displayed in the form. The send action is entered. Each send action then queues all of the displayed conversion documents and sends them to the TSR software module, whether by fax, network communication, or otherwise. Command to coordinate the transmission of.

The format search proceeds in substantially the same manner by setting the pre-search and search actions and pointing to the matching document. (It is clear that by designating the remote location of the user as the receiving side, it is possible to search for documents as an alternative to the search task.)

One of the important features of the send list generated by the list task is that it presents to the user the image region labels whose details are associated with the previously mentioned document. Again, the label can be almost any marking that fits, and some examples are shown in FIG. For example, labels 200 and 202 are image-based labels based on handwritten characters, and label 204 is an image-based label based on typewritten characters (eg, computer-recognizable text type). Label 206 is an image based on an illustration.
The label 208 is an image / label based on English characters.

An alternative that invokes actions such as send, retrieve, etc. by form does this on a display such as a computer CRT. For example, assume that a user is now returning from a remote location and following the techniques described above has accessed computer 54 where one or more documents are stored. Application software facilitates obtaining a list of all stored documents or a selected set. A display screen 210 showing such a document list 212 in a window environment is shown in FIG.

If the list 2122 matches, the item type icon 2 is displayed for each item listed.
14 (eg, document icon, etc.), image area label 21
6 and other related data 218 (eg file
Size, generation date, etc.) are included. Prior to creating the document list 212, a table for managing various file names is created, but this table is not displayed. First, when a document list is requested, the information database is consulted to determine if the file is stored. The document item in the information database is examined and the document file name and the associated image / label file name are entered into the table. Using this table,
When the list 212 is created, files including images and labels are displayed in association with related documents. That is, the image / label is displayed on each line of the list. The selection of a row by the user is understood to mean the selection of the document associated with the image / label displayed in the row.

The user interface provides a specific protocol for identifying (ie selecting) the items to be displayed. For example, clicking a button with a mouse input device is generally interpreted as selecting the area pointed to by the pointer on the display screen.
A standard interface with the user interface allows to specify what the result will be by the feature selection of a particular display item. For example,
Double-clicking a mouse button is generally defined as opening and displaying the selected file.

The application software does not necessarily need to know whether the form it receives is from a scanner, fax machine, another computer, etc. Thus, one of the variations described above involves providing a document to another computer for storage, transmission, etc. A document that will be stored as a file on one of the computers will be interpreted at the destination computer as if the form and document were originally in paper form and faxed as described above. It is possible to prefix the electronic form. One consequence of storing this form of document is that the document label appears in front of the computer that generated the form. However, the document label is treated just like any other document label and is not stored in a computer-recognizable format.

In general, those skilled in the arts related to the present invention can make various modifications to the structure of the present invention and various embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Will come to mind. For example, the description of the invention has been made with reference to remote storage, manipulation, and retrieval. However, the above explanation is not limited to the document
Clearly, it applies to other types of data as well. Moreover, the above discussion is in terms of assigning names to files. Of course, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, no matter how the same procedure is stored, between the reference item and the item to be referred to, for example, the recipient's name and the recipient's telephone number. , Also applies when establishing any other relationship. Accordingly, the disclosures and descriptions herein are intended to be illustrative, not limiting in any sense.

Appendix 1 When selecting the next action to perform, the job scheduler can select one of 16 different types of actions: Input This is the default action and will be executed if no other action is ready. The action polls the application TSR to determine if there is a new receipt of a fax to process, and if there is a new batch in the database,
And enter a new batch action. 2. Batch For normal (image) faxing, this action will generate a page item for each input page, along with the page action to be performed on that page, and the job set action, based on the data base. . For binary fax transmission, a job is created with a binary store action. In both cases, cleanup actions are also generated. 3. Page This action calls the image processing code to determine if the page is blank (only if there is a single page in the batch), formatted, or a data page. This decision is then stored in the database. For formats, encoded format data is also retrieved from the format image and stored in the database. 4. Job Set This action is determined to be ready if there are pages whose type remains unknown (ie, all corresponding page actions have been completed). Based on the format and the sequence of data pages, the job has a database with either a format action (if the job has a format) or a data action (if it has no format) for each job. Is generated. 5. Data This action extracts the matching page from the incoming fax transmission and creates an entry in the database that corresponds to the incoming fax mail. 6. Format This action utilizes the encoded format data from the format to find a format description file, process the format description to form a data structure, and send it to the image processing code. Check which image processing code
It is determined whether the box is marked and the used clip area (for example, cover note) is extracted. The result is then used to interpret the formatting instructions and generate various actions and other data structures in the database. 7. Before Send This action converts the requested file to the file format specific to the fax card used in this particular system. The action performs all required receiver processing to generate a send action for each of them. 8. Send This action queues all the requested files and sends them to the specified recipients as requested by the application TSR. The action also generates a corresponding verification action. 9. Store This action extracts the data page associated with the job and creates the corresponding item in the information database. The action also adds a new virtual file to the category specified in the format. 10.2 Store This action creates an entry for the input binary file in the information database and marks it for the input fax mail. 11. Before Search This action converts the file requested to be searched into the file format specific to the fax card used in this particular system. The action also generates a search action. 12. Search This action queues all required files and sends them to the return address as requested by the application TSR. At the address,
It also generates the corresponding validation action. 13. Delete This action deletes the file indicated by the format (both from the information database and disk). 14. Verification This action requests the status of the corresponding send or search event from the application TSR to verify its completion or failure. If the event is not yet complete, the action resets the start time for later verification. 15. Clean Up This action will be executed after all other actions related to the batch are completed. In this action, when all other actions are completed, the temporary file is deleted and tidy. 16. Purge This action is batch independent. The action is performed periodically as specified by the user to remove unwanted old information from the database.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a diagram generally illustrating a device, including a computer and peripherals, of the type with which the present invention may be used or form a part thereof.

FIG. 2 illustrates various software modules of the type with which the present invention can be used or form a part thereof, with a shared communications interconnect therebetween.

FIG. 3 illustrates an apparatus, including a computer, and a facsimile machine capable of sending data to and receiving data from a computer, of a type that may employ or form part of the present invention. It is a figure.

FIG. 4 is a batch diagram showing jobs, documents, and formats.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing steps for implementing remote document storage according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the steps required to transfer a batch to a computer for processing in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the steps required for batch processing according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the steps required for a job set action according to one of the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a format according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of an action table generated by image processing software according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates the steps required to create a table for setting processing actions in a job database, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of a selection format associated with a send action generated in response to a request to send a document list, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a computer display screen that displays a list of images and labels in a window user interface environment to facilitate document selection using an input device such as a mouse.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 device, 12 computer, 14 network connection, 16 format editor, 18 scanner, 20 image communication means, 22 storage device, 24 network connection, 26 display device, 28 printer, 30
Image communication means, 54 computer, 54a display device, 54b input device, 54c fax card interface module, 54d processing and memory device, 56 fax machine, 58 telephone line

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Walter A. L. Johnson, California, USA 95051 Santa Clara Blackfield Drive 1345 (72) Inventor Dick Wa Lo, USA, California 95035 Milpitas Chupon Avenue 1314 (72) Inventor Z-Eroll Smith The Third United States California 94306 Palo Alto Los Robles 924

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A processor means, a memory means connected to the processor means for storing a data item, and a processor means connected to the processor means for converting a print document into a data file representing the print document. Converting means for extracting the data representing the selected display added to the print document from the file, connected to the converting means, and the selected display added to the print document Is added to the print document between the data representing the
An image processing system comprising means for establishing a relationship in which a selection of data representing a selected display is interpreted as a selection of data items. 2. Processor means, memory means connected to the processor means for enabling the processor means to store and retrieve electronic data, and processor means connected to capture and capture an image of a printed document. A document image forming means for converting the formed image into data representing a document; an image processing means connected to the document image forming means for identifying at least one selected region of the document from the data representing the document; Means and the image processing means are communicatively coupled to assign a first file name to the data representation of the first document captured by the document image forming means, the image processing means from the data representation of the second document. A second file name is assigned to the selected area of the identified second document, and between the first and second file names, the processor means sets the second file name of the second file. A document storage, manipulation and retrieval system comprising software product means for establishing a relationship in which the content identification can be interpreted as the content identification of the first file. 3. The first and second files are stored, and between the first and second files, the selection of the contents of the first file is performed by the word processing system to select the contents of the second file. A method for operating a document processing system, wherein a relationship is established that can be interpreted as a selection, the step of specifying a processing task to be performed on a document, and the processing of the first file An operating method comprising the steps of selecting content and obtaining the processing task performed on the content of the second file by selecting the content of the first file. 4. A document field area in which an identification code known to the data processing resource, an encoded representation of the printed identification code and the data processing resource are stored in a storage device connected to the data processing resource. Printed to facilitate selection of a document field area compatible with at least one displayed document field area for receiving a display provided by a user, which is interpreted as a selection of a data representation of an associated document, Select and select a document field area on a print sheet that forms a type of paper format with any pre-assigned image area document label uniquely associated with a single document field area of at least one document field area. Enter the steps based on the process and the paper format into the fax machine. A step of converting the image of the paper format including the selected image of the document field area into an electronic data representation and transmitting the electronic data representation to a data processing resource in the facsimile apparatus; and a code display of the format identification code. To identify the format, identify the field areas of the selected document by the format identification code, and thereby identify the relevant data representation of the document, and the selected process in the identified data representation of the document. A method for manipulating a data processing resource, the method comprising, as implemented, processing an electronic data representation of a form of print paper. 5. The selecting process is to send the identified data representation of the document to a selected destination.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the steps of converting the identified data representation of the document into a format suitable for transmission, and sending the converted data representation to a selected destination. 6. The selected destination is a facsimile machine, and the step of converting the identified data representation of the document comprises converting the data representation to a standard facsimile protocol format. Item 5. The operation method according to Item 5. 7. The selected process is retrieving an identified data representation of a document to be sent to an identified receiving fax machine, further comprising identifying the identified data representation of the document in a standard facsimile protocol. The method of operation of claim 4 including the steps of converting to a format and sending the converted data representation to a receiving facsimile machine.